Queen's Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

History, data, and trends combine in our look at the Queen's Cup, run over 1m6f at Musselburgh. Here, we reveal the winning profiles, connection records, and the statistical patterns that could help guide your selection this year.
Queen's Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 Queen's Cup Preview

The Queens Cup is the feature race on the race day scheduled to take place in April of each year at the Musselburgh racecourse, which also features the Scottish Sprint Cup. This is a class 3 handicap, having been downgraded from class 2 in 2026, which is open to runners aged four or older. The race is run over just shy of one mile and six furlongs.

Queen's Cup Information:

Our dedicated Musselburgh tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Queen's Cup, but will also have predictions for each meeting at Musselburgh throughout the season, so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Musselburgh Racecourse section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Queen's Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 10 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2015, when the race had an over-round of 112%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 126%, whilst on average over the last 10 renewals of the Queen's Cup, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out ÂŁ100 for every ÂŁ121 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Queen's Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Queen's Cup Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Queen's Cup races over the last 10 renewals:

  1. Jonny Delta (2:57.98) in 2014
  2. Austrian School (3:00.01) in 2019
  3. Themaxwecan (3:02.18) in 2021

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 10 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Queen's Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 0 winners. Backing all 9 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -9.00. Before placing your bet on the 2027 Queen's Cup, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 10 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2018 renewal when Brandon Castle from Archie Watson under the guidance of Andrew Mullen, won in a time of 3:15.75, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Jonny Delta, trained by Jim Goldie and ridden by Ian Brennan set the quickest time of 2:57.98 in the 2014 renewal.

What the expert says...
There doesn't seem to be a preferred route to this race; in fact, all ten winners have come from different tracks, including Abu Dhabi, Meydan, Newmarket and Ascot!

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Queens Cup Past Winners

Here are the Queen's Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Queen's Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

Race Notes: The 2024 renewal was abandoned due to a waterlogged track.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
3:06.02
Team Player (GB)
4yo 8-11 (3 of 13) 11/1
Greg Fairley
Ewan Whillans (GB)
2025
3:03.89
Kihavah (GB)
8yo 9-6 (5 of 14) 7/1
P J McDonald
Adrian Paul Keatley (GB)
2023
3:06.42
Wise Eagle (IRE)
6yo 9-5 (10 of 14) 9/1
Daniel Tudhope
Adam Nicol (GB)
2022
3:03.42
Enemy (GB)
5yo 9-2 (2 of 14) 11/1
Daniel Tudhope
Ian Williams (GB)
2021
3:02.18
Themaxwecan (IRE)
5yo 9-5 (12 of 13) 13/2
Ben Curtis
Mark Johnston (GB)
2019
3:00.01
Austrian School (IRE)
4yo 9-5 (14 of 14) 4/1F
Joe Fanning
Mark Johnston (GB)
2018
3:15.75
Brandon Castle (GB)
6yo 8-11 (3 of 13) 10/1
Andrew Mullen
Archie Watson (GB)
2017
3:03.06
Carbon Dating (IRE)
5yo 9-7 (7 of 13) 12/1
Tadhg O'Shea
John Patrick Shanahan (IRE)
2015
3:11.20
Buthelezi (USA)
7yo 8-12 (11 of 11) 16/1
Ben Curtis
Brian Ellison (GB)
2014
2:57.98
Jonny Delta (GB)
7yo 8-5 (4 of 12) 12/1
Ian Brennan (3lbs)
Jim Goldie (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Queen's Cup have been based:

  • GB: 9 winners with an additional 19 placings from 126 runners
  • IRE: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 5 runners

Queens Cup Trainer Statistics

Here are some of the top Queen's Cup trainer statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Jim Goldie13-1-2+0.00-2.25
Ian Williams5-1-2+7.00+4.26
Brian Ellison4-1-1+13.00+6.60
Archie Watson3-1-2+8.00+5.25
Adam Nicol3-1-2+7.00+4.82
Ewan Whillans1-1-1+11.00+6.88
Adrian Paul Keatley1-1-1+7.00+4.38
Andrew Balding6-0-0-6.00-6.00
Tim Easterby5-0-1-5.00-1.37
Richard Fahey5-0-0-5.00-5.00

Queens Cup Jockey Statistics

There are two leading jockeys in the Queen's Cup over the last 10 renewals, with both Ben Curtis and Daniel Tudhope, who have both won the race two times. Ben Curtis winners have been with Buthelezi (2015) and Themaxwecan (2021). Daniel Tudhope's winners have been with Enemy (2022) and Wise Eagle (2023).

Here are some of the top Queen's Cup jockey statistics over the last 10 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Ben Curtis7-2-2+17.50+8.66
Daniel Tudhope5-2-2+17.00+9.51
Joe Fanning6-1-1-1.00-2.50
P J McDonald4-1-2+4.00+2.22
Andrew Mullen3-1-1+8.00+4.25
Tadhg O'Shea2-1-1+11.00+6.50
Greg Fairley1-1-1+11.00+6.88
Franny Norton5-0-1-5.00-3.81
Billy Garritty3-0-2-3.00+2.19
Connor Beasley3-0-1-3.00-0.50

Queens Cup Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 5+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +31.00, is when runners had the same jockey as when they last won.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a GB-bred dam, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-36.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 3 (8,11) [13 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 5 (3,8) [14 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 10 (2,7) [14 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 2 (5,3) [14 Runners]
  • 2021: Winner in 12 (14,5) [13 Runners]

The courses that have produced the most winners of the Queen's Cup are Newcastle (AW), Doncaster, Lingfield (AW), Ayr, Pontefract, Newmarket (Rowley), Meydan, Musselburgh, Ascot and Abu Dhabi; there have been a total of 1 winner from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 10 winners from a total of 121 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 10 runners.

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Queen's Cup despite multiple attempts:

  • Galileo (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Authorized (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 10 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Buthelezi in 2015, winning for Brian Ellison at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of Ben Curtis. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 10 renewals, there have been 1 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2027 Queen's Cup, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?

Route to the Queen's Cup

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Queen's Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Team Player
Newcastle (AW) - 1st of 11 (33/1)
Join The Midnite Movement Handicap
2025 - Kihavah
Ayr - 9th of 12 (16/1)
Scottish Champion Hurdle
2023 - Wise Eagle
Pontefract - 1st of 8 (4/1)
Phil Bull Trophy Conditions Stakes
2022 - Enemy
Meydan - 4th of 15 (66/1)
Nad Al Sheba Trophy Presented By DP World UAE
2021 - Themaxwecan
Newmarket (Rowley) - 2nd of 10 (11/2)
Close Brothers Cesarewitch Trial Handicap
2019 - Austrian School
Ascot - 3rd of 7 (11/2)
Londonmetric Noel Murless Stakes
2018 - Brandon Castle
Lingfield (AW) - 6th of 8 (14/1)
Betway Handicap
2017 - Carbon Dating
Abu Dhabi - 3rd of 12 (1/1)
Abu Dhabi Championship
2015 - Buthelezi
Musselburgh - F of 8 (9/1)
Scottish Champion Chase
2014 - Jonny Delta
Doncaster - 8th of 13 (10/1)
Doncaster Mini Handicap

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Queen's Cup Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for Flat racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

Other Principal races at Musselburgh Racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Musselburgh racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in February (Scottish Cheltenham Trials)

Races in April

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